The invention relates to a ball-and-socket coupling, particularly for railway cars and is of the type that has a first support (such as a bracket) which is affixed to a first car body and which carries a coupling ball as well as a second support (such as a bracket) which is affixed to a second car body and which carries a socket that receives the ball. Such couplings have been known for a long time and are described, for example, in Dubbels Taschenbuch fur den Maschinenbau (Mechanical Engineering Handbook), pages 678-693.